Wisconsin local government salary, 2008-2011

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Wisconsin local government salary data is public record.

Cities

Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking information on public employees salaries, focusing on those with an annual income of $150,000 or higher for the years 2008 - 2011. Madison officials responded to Sunshine Review's request with a note that no city employee earned an annual salary of $150,000 or more during those years.

However, according to the Wisconsin State Journal's salary database, several employees earned over $150,000 during those years. Director of Planning Development Mark Olinger earned $169,439.15 in 2010. In 2009, Comptroller Dean Brasser earned $151,551.04

The mayor of Milwaukee earned $147,335.76 in 2011.

Counties

As of 2011, the highest salary for key officials in Milwaukee County went to the sheriff, who made $132,290. The Dane County public employee earning the most in 2010 was the Airport Director, who brought in $145,556. The highest salary yet was at the Brown County Health Center, where an employee made $291,364 in 2009 - 2010.

School districts

According to an online database created by the Journal Sentinel, there were 113 employees of the Milwaukee school district making more than $100,000 in 2011. One employee of the Madison Metropolitan School District was paid a salary of $150,000 or more between 2008 and 2011.

The Assistant District Administrator for Racine Unified Schools made $112,630.00 in 2010, the highest salary that year.

Law enforcement

Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office salaries for 2010 are provided online by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Nine employees are listed as having earned over $100,000 in total pay. The highest paid position was the Medical Director for Detention Services, who made $192,694.00. In 2009, 15 employees of the Dane County Sheriff's Office made over $100,000.

Fire departments

The Fire Chief for the City of Madison Fire Department earned the highest salary in 2011, making $132,542.45. For Milwaukee, the highest salary went to its Deputy Fire Chief, who earned $150,512 in 2010.

Salary articles

In 2011, Sunshine Review requested salary information from 19 local governments in the state.

Cities

• Madison
• Milwaukee

Counties

• Milwaukee County
• Dane County
• Waukesha County
• Brown County

School districts

• Milwaukee School District
• Madison Metropolitan School District
• Green Bay Area School District
• Racine School District

Law enforcement

• Milwaukee Office of the Sheriff
• Dane County Sheriff's Office
• Waukesha County Sheriff
• Brown County Sheriff’s Office
• Madison Police Department
• Milwaukee Police Department
• Wisconsin State Patrol

Fire departments

• City of Madison Fire Department
• Milwaukee Fire Department

Salary records project

In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):

1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin

Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection method was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.

The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.

A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia said the city of Philadelphia faced challenges owing to the cost of public employee pensions. The report claimed the amount that Philadelphia paid to pension recipients limited the city’s ability to use its budget effectively.

The report said there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701. The authors recommended three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions: improved data collection, expanded transparency initiatives, and reductions to the city's overall budget.

Salary schedules can be published as ranges, not as specific compensation figures, and may leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aimed to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.

External links

• Data Mine: Search WI Teacher Salaries, Postcrescent.com, 2011

Private vs. public salaries

• "Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation of 20 Years," Center for State & Local Government Excellence, 2010
• "WI One of 41 States Where Public Workers Earn More," USAToday.com, 2011
• "Public Workers by the Numbers," LaCrosse Tribune, February 17, 2011
• "Are WI Public Employees Over-Compensated," Economic Policy Institute, February 10, 2011
• Fox Business Network's Eric Bolling says Wisconsin teachers get compensated nearly double those in private sector, PolitiFact.com, 2011
• "Are Wisconsin’s Sate and Local Workers Overpaid?," Washington Post, February 19, 2011
• "For Anyone Who Thinks WI State Workers are Overpaid…," Business Insider, February 17, 2011